BECOME A MORE DIFFICULT OPPONENT

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You may have been looking at competition all wrong. Maybe competition should not only be about throwing the "kitchen sink" at your opponent to try and beat them down.

Even if your strategy leans towards all-out offence: relying on a big serve and a dominating forehand, introducing some subtlety to your game might produce surprising results.

After all, why would you want to play an opponent at full strength? Wouldn't it be better to neutralise their strengths first before playing them? 

While that may seem overly simplistic to most, reducing your opponent's effectiveness is possible and entirely necessary if you want to reach the top. 

STRATEGICALLY SMART

"The first job of any army is to 

make themselves unbeatable first"

You must have a plan before every match that addresses your opponent's strengths and weaknesses; otherwise, you're inviting trouble. Without a plan, every match could be a battle because you could be allowing for the best version of your opponent.

Ideal strategy is about neutralising your opponent's strengths and, at the same time, trying to create havoc with their weaknesses.

Tennis matches should never be about giving your opponent a "fair chance" and competing with them on a level playing field. Find ways to play them from a position of advantage. 

The "8 Opposites" is a system of assessing your opponent's strengths and weaknesses before matches. 

Create a habit of going into matches with a clear plan of what you want to do for each individual opponent. 

MENTALLY RESILIENT

"...to keep your head when all those 

\about you are losing theirs."

Tennis is such a tough game mentally! The pressures on competitive players during matches are immense, and if I were to sum up what is needed to succeed in tennis in one word, it would be Resilience.

The ability to overcome setbacks during matches is crucial to success. It will also make you a much more difficult opponent.

The mental dips you experience in matches are culprits that kill your results.

Resiliency comes from believing that what you are doing during the match will eventually work and that rather than focusing on the setbacks, you remain focused on the processes you have in place, such as your strategy.

The "will to win" has nothing to do with it. Every player starts the match wanting to win. However, during the match, events can occur to weaken your resolve. This can lead to you finding excuses why this is "not my day".

Your mentality is 90% of winning or losing and you need to develop an iron will that is founded on resiliency.

PHYSICALLY PREPARED

"I realised that if I trained harder 

my results improved."

A young player asked Paradorn Srichaphan (former #9 ATP) what propelled him into the top ten in the world. His answer had nothing to do with developing a bigger serve or any new strategy. He answered, "I realised that if I trained harder, my results improved."

Your chances of winning increase when you are stronger, faster, and have greater endurance than your opponent. Your self-confidence will also permeate throughout your game. 

Getting in the best possible shape for your matches is not dependent on talent. Getting in shape is about your commitment and motivation to improve your results.

TECHNICALLY SOUND

"Great technique should act like your armour, 

it should keep you safe under pressure."

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I spend a lot of time telling people that technique is not as important as we think. I'm trying to pull the tennis world away from the belief that tennis is a closed-skill sport and that if the stroke is perfect, then that will translate into perfect tennis, and that's not going to happen. Technique is one of several pieces that must be present to compete well and win matches.

So, when is technique important?

Any junior wanting to reach the top must have a great technical foundation. Once they have established solid reliable technique, they will be able to adapt their game to each opponent, 

Your technique must be versatile. You must be able to attack and defend the points. Your technique needs to adapt to each opponent's many different game styles. Most importantly, your technique must hold together under pressure.

Great technique should act like armour; it should keep you safe under pressure. That means your technique for various strokes should be your technique, not a technique adopted from a YouTube video just because someone online sold it to you, or a player ranked in the top ten is using it.

The technique you adopt for each stroke should be suited to you and never be "cosmetic": a stroke based on
how it looks. Base your technique on solid fundamentals and let your form evolve naturally.